Delaware & Choptank Electric Cooperatives are asking members to Beat the Peak this afternoon – beginning now until 6pm.  Temperatures are expected to reach well into the 80s and Co-op officials are expecting peak energy usage as members arrive home after work, but at much costlier energy prices.  You can help by delaying the use of the washer, dryer and dish washer and hot water until after 6pm, turn off unnecessary lights and boost the thermostat up 3 degrees.

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NEWS RELEASE:    Beat the Peak: Today, Wednesday, May 16th, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.    

Delaware Electric Cooperative has issued a “Beat the Peak” alert for today, Wednesday, May 16th between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
 
Why: Temperatures are expected to reach well into the 80′s and we expect energy usage to peak tonight as members get home, start cooking and turn on the air conditioning. During times of peak energy use your co-op pays a premium price for energy. By reducing how much energy you are using in your home, you can lower your co-op’s energy costs. Because Delaware Electric Cooperative is member owned, those savings are passed onto you. This is one reason you pay the lowest price for electric in the state!
 
What Should I Do? To lower your energy consumption during the alert period, please turn off any unnecessary lights and delay using appliances like your dishwasher or washing machine. Turning the thermostat up a few degrees can also significantly lower how much energy you are using.  
   
DEC’s “Beat the Peak” program has saved members $14 million since 2008. To sign up for the program click Here!
 
 For more information visit us on the web at www.delaware.com

The Ocean City Council has voted to approve a new city manager – hiring David Recor to replace Dennis Dare who was asked for his resignation last September.  Recor tells WGMD…

When Dare was fired last fall, the city council members talked about wanting to take the city in a new direction.  WGMD asked Record if that new direction has been discussed with him….

And he tells WGMD that the city employees will have a large say in that new direction because they’re the ones working on the projects and activities.

As the search process neared completion and the choice was down to just 2 or 3 candidates, Councilman Joe Hall called the person he considered the top choice – even though the head hunters at Springsted had specifically told the council to have no contact with the candidates outside of executive session interviews.   That person was Recor and WGMD asked him if he thought that phone call with Hall could send the search process back to square one…

He says he was surprised to see the issue spiral out of control like it did, but thanks Mayor Meehan and the Ocean City Council for sticking with him.

WGMD’s Andrew Koch was in the council chambers when the decision was announced…..

The votes to hire David Recor came from the same four council members who voted to fire former city manager Dennis Dare – Council members Joe Hall, Brent Ashley, Margaret Pillas and Council President Jim Hall.  Since last September, Mayor Rick Meehan has been the acting city manager.  Recor is the former city manager of Fort Pierce, Florida.

ADDITIONAL UPDATE BY ANDREW KOCH: Council President Jim Hall said the vote to hire Recor was straight up, with no discussion. Mayor Meehan was applauded by the Council members for his work as acting town manager since Dare was fired. Meehan responding by saying he still had three weeks to go, which drew some laughs. Council candidate John Adkins feels that last month’s phone conversation between Recor and Councilman Joe Hall should’ve been grounds for starting the search process over again. There was an agreement between the Council and the consulting firm hired to conduct the search for a new town manager that none of the Council members were to have any contact with any of the candidates during the search process.

During today’s work session, Mayor Meehan asked new convention center director Larry Nocholino to introduce himself to the public. Nocolino’s been on the job for about a week. He comes to Ocean City from the Valley Forge (PA) Convention Center, where he held the same position. Mayor Meehan also called Communications Director Donna Abbott to the podium and informed her that she was appointed as the town’s new Director of Tourism and Marketing. Meehan said that of the nearly 100 candidates who applied, the top candidates, including Abbott, were all internal candidates.

UPDATED STORY 05.16.12:  Delaware Senator Chris Coons hosted a briefing Tuesday for members of Congress and their staff to learn about and experience wearing bullet-resistant and stab-resistant body armor.

The event, “Protection through Innovation: Bullet – and Stab-Resistant Body Armor and Our Nation’s Law Enforcement Officers,” was sponsored by the Senate and House Law Enforcement Caucuses and featured speakers from local and national law enforcement agencies, and the company that manufactures Kevlar, DuPont.

Senator Coons delivered keynote remarks yesterday followed by Lewes Police Chief Jeff Horvath and others.

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ORIGINAL STORY:  Lewes Police Chief Jeff Horvath will travel to D.C. today to join Delaware Senator Chris Coons and others to learn about and experience wearing bullet-resistant and stab-resistant body armor.

Senator Coons is the co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus; he’s hosting today’s briefing for members of Congress and their staff to mark National Police Week.

Safety issues that will be addressed during the briefing include body armor wear rates and special fit issues concerning body armor worn by women, the scientific testing process for body armor and efforts to minimize the risks of backface signature injuries.

Today’s event starts at 2:30 p.m. at the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington.

UPDATED STORY 05.16.12:  The Delaware Senate Tuesday passed two competing home invasion bills, but not before amendments were added to both. 

Under S.B. 161, with Senate Amendment 3 added, a first time offense would lead to 10 years behind bars instead of the 15 years initially proposed by bill sponsor David Lawson; a second-time offender would get 25 years instead of life in prison. Senate Amendment 4, which was also added to the bill, clarifies that the person breaking into a home need not know that someone was in the home in order to be charged with home invasion. The Senate passed the bill with the two amendments 21-0.

Meantime, the second amendment added to S.B. 161 was also added to H.B. 277 which stipulates that a first-time offender would spend six years behind bars and a second offense would result in eight years in prison; the bill increases the penalties to seven and nine years, respectively, if the crime is committed against a senior citizen.

Both bills are now headed to the House for consideration.

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UPDATED STORY 05.15.12:  The Delaware Senate today is set to vote on two competing home invasion bills that were released last week from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senator David Lawson is sponsoring Senate Bill 161 and Representative Debra Heffernan is sponsoring House Bill 277.

Under S.B. 161, a first-time home invasion offense would result in at least a 15-year prison sentence; a second offense would result in life in prison.

Under H.B. 277, a first-time offender would spend six years behind bars and a second offense would result in eight years in prison; the bill increases the penalties to seven and nine years, respectively, if the crime is committed against a senior citizen.

If passed today, Senator Lawson’s bill still needs to be approved by the House; Representative Heffernan’s bill would go directly to Gov. Markell for his signature.

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ORIGINAL STORY:  A Delaware Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday released two competing bills that address home invasions.

Senator David Lawson is sponsoring Senate Bill 161 and Representative Debra Heffernan is sponsoring House Bill 277.

Under S.B. 161, a first-time home invasion offense would result in at least a 15-year prison sentence; a second offense would result in life in prison.

Under H.B. 277, a first-time offender would spend six years behind bars and a second offense would result in eight years in prison; the bill increases the penalties to seven and nine years, respectively if the crime is committed against a senior citizen.

Both bills are now headed to the full Senate for consideration.

UPDATED STORY by Kelli Steele 05.16.12: A federal district court granted a preliminary injunction Tuesday night, blocking the Sussex County Council from opening its meetings with a distinctively Christian prayer.

Ruling in Mullin v. Sussex County, U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark wrote that the Sussex County Council’s longstanding practice of opening each of its meetings with a Protestant version of the Lord’s Prayer probably “violates the Establishment Clause because it constitutes government endorsement of the Christian faith.”

Americans United filed the lawsuit in June 2011 on behalf of four Sussex County residents who attend council meetings and say they were offended by the governmental body’s promotion of one religious perspective and disrespect of other faiths.

The court issued a 30-day stay of the preliminary injunction in the hope that a settlement can be reached out of court.

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ORIGINAL STORY:  Earlier this year, Americans United for Separation of Church and State – a Washington-based watchdog group – filed a suit challenging the Sussex County Council’s practice of starting weekly meetings with the Lord’s Prayer.  Now the group has asked for a preliminary injunction.  The lawsuit was filed in June by Americans United for Separation of Church and State.  But now they are asking a federal court to grant a preliminary injunction blocking the County Council from using the Protestant version of the Lord’s Prayer.  The group argues that the practice is unconstitutional and should be blocked while the case is being heard.  Officials say the distinctly Christian prayer shows favoritism to the majority, but excludes residents of other faiths.

Read the lawsuit here

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NEWS RELEASE:  Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Contact: Joe Conn, Rob Boston or Simon Brown
202.466.3234 telephone
www.au.org
AMERICANS UNITED ASKS FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION IN SUSSEX COUNTY PRAYER LAWSUIT
Government-Sponsored Recitation Of The Lord’s Prayer Clearly Violates Constitution, Church-State Watchdog Group Says

A federal court should grant a preliminary injunction blocking a Delaware county council from opening its meetings with distinctively Christian prayer, Americans United for Separation of Church and State said in a court filing today.

Americans United, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group, is challenging the Sussex County Council’s long-standing practice of opening each of its meetings with the recitation of a Protestant version of the Lord’s Prayer, led by Council President Michael H. Vincent.

In its court filing, the group argues that the practice is so patently unconstitutional that it should be blocked by a preliminary injunction while the case is under way.

“Sussex County’s promotion of the Lord’s Prayer shows favoritism toward the majority religion and excludes those residents who don’t share that faith,” said Alex J. Luchenitser, associate legal director of Americans United. “Residents are pressured to participate in the Prayer, as the Council members can see who in their meeting audience is taking part.”

Americans United filed the Mullin v. Sussex County lawsuit in June with the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on behalf of four Sussex County residents — the Rev. John Steinbruck, Barbara Mullin, Julie Jackson and William O’Connor. All plaintiffs in the lawsuit have attended council meetings in the past and were offended by the governmental body’s promotion of one religious perspective and disrespect of their own beliefs.
The council meetings occur on most Tuesdays of the year. The council has opened its meetings with the Lord’s Prayer since 1971.

In its court filing, AU observes, “The Council recites a version of the Lord’s Prayer that would be comfortable to a traditionalist Episcopalian but unfamiliar and disagreeable to a progressive Episcopalian, a Catholic, or a Congregationalist. Indeed, the Council’s version of the Lord’s Prayer is not just religion-specific; it is denomination-specific. The Council has, for that reason, alienated and excluded members of the audience, Christian and non-Christian alike.

“Prohibiting the Council from reciting the Lord’s Prayer will not injure the defendants,” the filing goes on to assert. “It will not keep them from opening Council meetings with non-sectarian solemnizing words or with a moment of silent reflection. It will simply require the Council to put its recitation of the Lord’s Prayer on hold until this Court determines whether the practice is constitutionally valid.”

Along with Luchenitser, the case is being litigated by AU Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan, AU Madison Fellow Brooke R. Hardy (member, State Bar of Georgia; not admitted in D.C. and supervised by Luchenitser) and Delaware attorney David L. Finger.

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

No one bid Tuesday to buy the former house of convicted pedophile pediatrician Earl Bradley.

A sheriff’s sale was held yesterday in an attempt to sell the house; opening bids started at $230,000. But none of the 20-plus people on hand raised their hands to buy the home. That’s means U.S. Bank, to which Bradley owes more than $560,000, will now take possession of the house on Savannah Road and the property will then be listed for sale once again.

Bradley is serving 14 life sentences plus 164 years in prison for sexually abusing young patients at his Lewes practice, which has since been torn down.

The Delaware Superior Court will hear an appeal from   Bradley next month.  Bradley’s attorneys have said all along that they would appeal the doctor’s conviction because of a botched search of his Route 1 offices, which turned up videos of Bradley molesting his young patients.

Arguments before the state Supreme Court in Dover will begin at noon on Wednesday, June 13.

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DSP News Release:  Dover Man Arrested for Selling Drugs
Location:  300 block of David Hall Road, Dover, DE
Date of Occurrence:   Wednesday May 16, 2012 at 6:11 a.m.
Defendants, Charges, and Bail Information:
Thomas M. Bailey Jr., 32, Dover, DE (Photo Attached)
•    Possession with the Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance
•    Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
 Arraigned at JP2 and committed to JTVCC on $5,500.00 cash bail.
 
Resume:
Dover, DE- The Delaware State Police have arrested a Dover man after the culmination of a month long drug investigation.
 
On Wednesday May 16, 2012, the Kent County Drug Unit with the assistance of the Kent County Governor’s Task Force, Dover Police Department and Smyrna Police Department executed a search warrant as a result of an investigation into the illegal sale of heroin at the residence.
 
During the execution of the search warrant, detectives located approximately 1.6 grams of heroin (84 packets) and over $2,000.00 in suspected drug proceeds.
 
Bailey was charged with Possession with the Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  He was arraigned at JP2 and committed to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center on $5,500.00 cash bail.

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NEWS RELEASE:  Worcester County Sheriff’s Office
 
On May 13, 2012 at approximately 1109 hours a Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Deputy arrested Corey Lonnel Hinmon of Snow Hill, MD on the charges of Second degree assault and reckless endangerment. Mr. Hinmon was held at the Worcester County Jail.

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NEWS RELEASE:  SEAT BELT ENFORCEMENT DETAIL RECOVERS ILLEGAL DRUGS AND LOADED HANDGUN

On May 13, 2012, at approximately 11 a.m., Ocean City Police were conducting a “Click It or Ticket”  seat belt enforcement detail, in the area of 33rd Street and Baltimore Avenue.

During the enforcement operation, patrol officers stopped a vehicle registered in Delaware having four unrestrained adult occupants and a one-year-old infant.

During the stop officers observed in plain view, a small amount of suspected marijuana in a front seat cup holder and a passenger in the rear seat attempting to roll a suspected marijuana cigarette. The occupants were removed from the vehicle, after which officers searched the vehicle for additional contraband.

During the search, police located a soda can in the back seat area which had a false compartment that was empty.  A search of the occupants revealed two bags of suspected heroin from: Jamil Lee Mills, 21, of Wilmington, DE.  Police continued to search the vehicle and located a backpack in the trunk containing four bundles of small clear plastic bags, which were later found to be 53 individual bags of suspected heroin. The backpack was also found to have a loaded Jennings .32 caliber handgun, which officers noted, had the serial number scratched off.  Additionally, officers seized over $600 in cash, cell phones and the commercially made stash-can (soda can).

The owner of the backpack was arrested and identified as: Marcus Lamont Neal, 19, of New Castle, DE.  A front seat passenger identified as: Raheem Shalir Cephas, 22, of Wilmington,  was arrested after officers recovered a bag of suspected Marijuana, which was concealed in his sock.

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NEWS RELEASE:  Homeless High Risk Tier III Sex Offender Notification
 
Randall L. Butler, 32, Dover, DE
5’11” tall, 166 lbs
Black hair, Brown eyes
 
Resume:
Dover, DE- Randall L. Butler is not wanted. This is a Homeless Sex Offender Public Notification. Butler is a high risk Tier III sex offender who has registered as homeless in Dover, DE. If you have information that Butler is occupying a residence please contact 302-739-5882. Tips may also be submitted through lines maintained by Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333. Tips may also be submitted through the use of your cellular phone by texting keyword “DSP” and then your message to 274637 (CRIMES) or through the internet at www.tipsubmit.com.

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NEWS RELEASE:  Worcester County Sheriff’s Office

On 05/15/2012 at approximately 1613 hours, a Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Deputy arrested Stephen Douglas Cymek, 33 years of age, of Ocean City, Maryland for a District Court Bench Warrant issued for Violation of Probation after being charged with Trespassing. Mr. Cymek was later held at the Worcester County Jail without bail.

Sen. Alexander says the bill has received support from 35 Senators in each party. Sen. Coons explained that when he was an attorney at W.L. Gore & Associates in Newark, he saw firsthand the positive impact that foreign-born students can have in cutting-edge industries. Currently, as part of U.S. immigration policy, per-country visa caps send almost 20,000 foreign-born students who received their degrees here back to their native countries, creating what’s known as a STEM “brain drain.” They then can use their education to start companies there that compete with American companies. Coons says the competitive environment has changed over the last 50 years, and foreign countries are creating environments that foster entrepreneurship to compete with the U.S. He says that while America’s education system is world-class, the immigration system is still operating as if the rest of the world hasn’t changed.

Case, a member of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, says that while access to capital has been identified as a top priority for entrepreneurs, finding a way to win “the global battle for talent” is a top priority in his mind. He says he’s heard a lot about this in his travels, and says that this issue is being recognized by lawmakers in Washington. He compares U.S. immigration policy to accepting Chinese students to the Naval Academy, teaching them our naval strategy, then sending them back home to join the Chinese Navy.

More than 200 of the Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or children of immigrants. Over 70 percent of the top 50 research universities in the world are here in the U.S.

I’ve met only one other Jules and heard of a third, the latter being a newspaperman with a desire for government playground monitors for policing the taunts.  The latter is syndicated columnist Jules Witcover.  His work appears in the Setting Sun, Maryland’s largest newspaper.  At the conclusion of each column a couple of lines in Italics explain Jules once worked at the Sun during the glory days, which would be roughly about the moment Russell Baker left for the New York Times. 

Witcover is in mourning.  He’s joining a chorus of liberals distressed by the forced retirement of Indiana Senator Richard Lugar.  Considering Lugar had been around Washington since the final days of the Ford Administration isn’t it fair to ask if he was the only Hoosier capable of doing the job.  Obviously his fellow registered Republicans in his home state believed the man had worn out his welcome.  They spoke fairly and legally and term limited the fossilized relic.  Many of Lugar’s fellow Republicans always believed he wasn’t much of a party man and his bona fides as a Hoosier were in question since he found it more comfortable living in Virginia.  I don’t see how the Senator’s length of service and choice of address in any manner approaches the ideals of our founding fathers.  For a liberal like Witcover I’ll bet the founders are nothing more than villainous relics.  White men, capitalists and in some cases slave holders in a culture where the practice then had wide acceptance. 

Witcover wailed writing this week about the loss of a man of reason.  He means the loss of a fellow traveler.  Does then his lengthy column suggest the man who defeated Lugar in a primary is unreasonable?  Richard Mourdock drew his base while serving as Indiana State Treasurer and I’ve read nothing these last several weeks offering Mourdock absconded with taxpayer funds or invested money in sky trains to the stars.  So why does Witcover wail? 

Lugar voted with the liberals.  Lugar voted often with the liberals.  Lugar was a liberal.  The writer lists a series of votes where the Indiana Senator was a given for the other party in the Senate and this is the nub, I suspect, of the argument.  Witcover is just another liberal columnist who claims liberalism is a self-evident truth.  Mourdock’s identity is still in the future.  He needs to win in November in what is shaping up as a Republican year.  Tea Party factions have been burned in the past and there are no guarantees Mourdock is an extremist as defined by mainstream media.  Shoot, from my view of self-evident liberty loving truth it’s the Tea Party brigades that are normal.  Witcover is a Cabernet sipping big government sycophant. 

As for Lugar always willing to say yes I remind you no one on the playground wanted a reputation of being easy.

For a change can’t we see compromise from the liberals?  Where’s a Senate budget?  Did the liberals include the Republicans in crafting and then shoving Obamacare down the throats of Americans?  Witcover and all the Sues on the left know the day of reckoning is here.  Don’t let them sway you with talk of rose petals on the floors of the cloakrooms of the Capitol.  Never in history has our government operated with legislators sitting in circles and singing Kumbaya.

A rout of epic proportions is on the way.  While a great many of us aren’t pleased with the choice of Mitt Romney the man isn’t named Barack Obama.  It’s a key point on ballots across the country.  I predict the challenger rolls up 45 states and the Senate falls while Romney’s party consolidates gains in the House and across much of the country. 

Clear the playground Jules.  You’re about to get schooled. 

The Campaign is a national, four-year program to house 100,000 vulnerable, homeless individuals and families by 2014.

Delaware has pledged to move 75 of the state’s most vulnerable homeless individuals and families into permanent housing by July 30, 2013.

As part of the 100,000 Homes initiative, campaign partners are coordinating Delaware’s Registry Week, June 2-8, when more than 300 volunteers will take to the State’s streets to survey and identify Delaware’s most vulnerable homeless individuals and families.

The event will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the MLK Student Center on the campus of Delaware State University. 

More than 20 funders from state and federal governments, private foundations, and non-profit agencies will be present at the fair.  

 Gossett-1

This past February, Gossett was appointed by Mayor Sam Cooper to fill the remainder of Kathy McGuiness’s term after she resigned in January. 

Gossett had previously served as commissioner from 2004 to 2007.

The election in Rehoboth will be held on Saturday, August 11.

Candidates have until June 4 to file; voters have until June 10 to register.

Walls Service Center can fix it!

We are A/C Specialists

Call 422-8110 for an estimate or to schedule an appointment.

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220 NE Front St

Milford De

Before passing the measure, legislators removed the word “continuously” that had been used to describe how long a driver could travel in the left lane. The bill does not apply to drivers in left turn lanes or in situations when no other cars are on the road.

House Bill 140 is now headed to the Senate for consideration.

Food Bank of Delaware President and CEO Patricia Beebe will make a presentation to the Kids Caucus on childhood hunger in Delaware. And a Joint Resolution from the House and Senate will be issued Thursday afternoon recognizing the Food Bank of Delaware’s efforts to alleviate hunger in Delaware.

Representatives from the organization will use the opportunity to educate Delaware’s elected officials about the Food Bank of Delaware’s statewide impact. Each legislator will receive a district-specific report outlining the Food Bank ofDelaware’s impact on his/her constituents.